Lesson Idea: Alcohol Stories (Using Web 2.0)

I'm always looking for ways to bring class content and skills alive in my health classroom. I first heard of this lesson from one of my undergraduate professors, Dr. Shannon Whalen, who shared it during a methods class during my junior year. The lesson initially appeared in the American Journal of Health Education in their July/August issue from 2007 (in an article written by Dr. Whalen with Suanne Maurer-Starks), and if you have access to a research database it's pretty easy to find the article. If you're an AAHPERD member and subscribe to the American Journal of Health Education, you can log on to the AAHPERD website and read the article for free.

I will not go into detail about discussion questions or the way in which Dr. Whalen completed this assignment. For that, you will have to find the article I mentioned above. The basic premise of the activity is for students to share stories relating to alcohol and how it had affected their life, specifically the consequences of binge drinking. The story just needs to be true and something that happened to the student or someone they know. Dr. Whalen would have college students submit their responses with a cover page, which was then torn off and counted for credit. The stories are shuffled and students take one randomly.

A screenshot of instructions on the Google Form 

Well, middle school students generally don't have the alcohol experience that college students have. I liked the idea of the lesson and wanted to adapt it to use in my middle school classroom, with the hope of injecting a little dose of reality into our alcohol unit. So, I reached out via social media to see how people I connect with online could help me out.  First, I created a simple Google Form for people to fill out anonymously. I shared this link via my personal Facebook and Twitter accounts, where I mentioned that I was looking for anonymous stories relating to alcohol use or abuse. There was no way for personally identifiable information to be included unless the person decided to write it in their story (no one did). I received twenty three responses; I am not sure who responded although some people did comment that they filled out a response. I did take out one that I felt was not appropriate to share with middle school age students. I did this over two separate occasions: May 2011 and January 2012. If I were to do it again, I would be more specific about using different hashtags on Twitter; I probably would not put it on Facebook again. With Twitter, I have never met most of my followers in person and I think the anonymity makes it easier for people to decide to write a story.

I simply have to print out the stories to share with my students. I cut them up into strips of paper and place them into a box/bag, and we create a circle of chairs around the room. We go around the circle and students pick a random story from the box/bag and read them aloud. At this point in the unit students already have basic knowledge of alcohol, and some of them point that out as we go through certain stories. I will briefly summarize certain aspects of each story as we go through them, but generally I save the discussion for the end; I make notes as we go through the activity so I remember to highlight certain points.

Below is a screencast showing the Google Form I created, as well as a brief scan through all of the responses I received. If you would like to fill out the form to contribute to how I use this lesson in my classroom, please click this link. This activity is adaptable to a variety of content areas, including other ATOD topics but also bullying. I would caution having current students completing this type of activity only because there might be legal ramifications as well as varying comfort levels to address.



As always, please feel free to e-mail me with questions, comments, or concerns.

Web 2.0 Tools: Wallwisher

When I start new units I like to use different types of activators to help determine what students know and get their brains firing about the topic we'll be covering over the next number of classes. I have a couple different types in rotation, depending on content and grade level, and I am always looking for different activators to try out or ways to improve on what I do.

In this situation, I wanted to see what students could come up with relating to the causes of the obesity epidemic in the United States. Because my students sit in groups, the prompt was easy enough: "In your groups, brainstorm as many causes of the obesity epidemic that you can think of." I usually post some guiding questions to help stimulate discussion, and I tried to get students thinking with these: "How did we get to this point? What factors have changed from years ago? Think small scale and large scale." We would go over the responses, start a discussion, and then shift to the notes they had to take down that day. Yes, sometimes my students have to take notes.

Normally, students would have regular lined paper, a larger piece of chart paper, or some of the whiteboards that I'll use for activators or other brainstorms. I've also considered using sticky notes, with one idea per note, and having students plaster them over the white board. This isn't really cost effective and there was not a way to easily save the work to re-examine it at the end of a unit.

But last week, I just happened to have the laptop carts in my room for my seventh grade "Tobacco Prevention Experts" projects. We were able to get about 9-10 of the 15 in the cart to work (an excellent rate, believe it or not) and they were just sitting there during my eighth grade classes. I also just happened to have taken a class in teaching using Web 2.0 and other technology tools. It was the perfect opportunity to try out Wallwisher, so when planning for this lesson I mad sure to incorporate this tool.

Wallwisher is simply described as, "Paper for the web." Wallwisher can be used for many different reasons; in response to the question, "What can you DO with Wallwisher?" the site provides many options: make noticeboards, teach, discuss, brainstorm, plan events, learn, and make lists. As I stated above, I used it for brainstorming.

A user logs on and creates a wall, which is customizable with different backgrounds. A wall creator can even create their own URL for the wall they create; I simply linked the walls from my class website and did not use this feature. Students then access the wall where they can post their own thoughts. All they have to do is double click, enter their name, and type their text. Students can also post links to websites, pictures, videos, and other media forms. Students can take to the Internet in search of items they could contribute to the wall. So, I had students log on (we had to share laptops, but students are used to this and did fine sharing) and begin posting away. I did have to delete a few silly posts, but for the most part students were engaged in what they were doing. I was able to give comments as posts happened, and students would respond.  As the creator of the wall, I was able to move the responses around in real time, and the students could not. This allowed me to be by the computer or Smartboard and create categories as they were created. If a teacher has a tablet, it would be even easier to create categories on the go!

An options exists if you wish to moderate posts by having to approve them before they post. I did not feel the need to use the option and feel like it would detract from the feel of using Wallwisher, and my students are pretty good about following technology protocols. It is easy to control how long you want the wall to remain open for students to write on by switching the "Who Can Write" option to "Only Me." Users can even subscribe the a wall's RSS feed. I had two students grab their iPhones and post to Wallwisher from their mobile browsers. Both had no issues and reported a positive experience.

I've embedded an example from one of my classes below. If you scroll around, you will seen numerous posts with images or pictures, as well as links to websites. This is what the product looks like after I arranged posts into a few rough categories. Scroll down for some final thoughts on Wallwisher.

Created with Wallwisher

Students covered a lot about fast food, but also hit upon points like stress eating and the availability of healthy foods. By clicking on each post, it is made bigger for easy viewing and whatever content is posted there fills up the page. You can scroll through each post this way, and you can also share posts via Facebook, Twitter, and other social media sites.

I enjoyed using Wallwisher because students were able to complete the same objective that they normally would if I used the "old school" brainstorming methods, but they were able to take it further and further, as deeply in the content as they want to go. After we were done, we had a conversation that segued nicely into our lesson. Because this was the start of a unit, I did allow about half of the class period for this activity.

As much as I enjoyed using Wallwisher, using it or similar brainstorming tools again would be very easy to use all the time if my district allowed students to bring their own web-enabled devices to school OR if we had access to reliable technology for students to use. Where I teach, enough students have smartphones or even laptops to make this a reality; any students who do not have access to a device could share with those who bring them in. I'm going to get off my soapbox now, but these are just points to mention the difficulties many teachers may face in implementing Web 2.0 tools in their classrooms.

As always, please do not hesitate to contact me with any questions, comments, or concerns.

Additional Resources: For more information on Wallwisher, check out the following resources:

1. Check out Wallwisher
2. Using Wall Wisher in the Classroom by Richard Byrne at Free Technology for Teachers
3. Follow Wallwisher on Twitter

"I Can't Breathe" Pam Laffin Video: Streaming on Vimeo

During my later elementary school and early middle school years, I remember seeing many anti-smoking advertisements sponsored by the Massachusetts Department of Public Health. The advertisements that I remember the most focused on a local woman named Pam Laffin. Pam was in her late twenties and suffered from emphysema. The advertisements were more graphic in nature than other advertisements I had seen, and I'm sure the DPH wanted to hit viewers with emotional advertisements.

If you know me as a teacher or have seen some past posts of mine, you know that I am not a fan of showing videos in a health education classrooms. I feel that videos are too often used as a cop-out by teachers who have no health education experience, or that they are not used appropriately. I do use a handful of video clips in class, but I only show two or three videos that could be considered somewhere close to a full length class period. Videos CAN be used appropriately, and the students sometimes enjoy them, but as I am shifting to a more skills-based classroom I don't see the need. Plus, it's not as fun as actual teaching!

One of the videos that I do show is an MTV True Life Episode entitled, "I Can't Breathe." "I Can't Breathe" was produced by MTV with assistance from the Massachusetts Department of Public Health, and documents Pam Laffin's experience with cigarette smoking and the negative health effects (cumulating with emphysema and a failed lung transplant) she dealt with. The video is short and to the point, and I use it to tie together the previous lessons we dealing with tobacco: smoking's effects on the body and the straw walk. The video is only twenty minutes long, but by using my go-to video viewing protocol (Record, Elaborate, Extend) as well as answering the numerous student questions that come up, this takes the full 53 minute class period.

I will say that some students will find this video a little graphic. They compare a healthy lung to a smoker's lung on an autopsy table, and the lungs are cut into to be examined. There are also some clips of Pam's lung transplant surgery. I know where these points are and give the students warning before they come up. 

You can stream "I Can't Breathe" directly from Vimeo. My district blocks YouTube and for some reason Vimeo is not blocked. Please note that I am not sure how that video is posted there or the copyright laws it may be violating. All I know is that this video has been effective in my classroom and you may find it effective in yours.

Here is a link to "I Can't Breathe" on Vimeo. Here is another link to the video viewing protocol I use for the few videos I do show.

Please do not hesitate to contact me with any questions, comments, or concerns.

Melanoma Resources, Part One: Mollie's Fund App

Melanoma is an important topic to discuss with children and adolescents. Over the next week, I will be posting about different melanoma resources I've used in my middle school classroom. When detected early, the survival rates of melanoma are quite high; when not detected early melanoma can become deadly. The first post deals with a new phone app relating to melanoma; next time check back for a local Massachusetts organization relating to melanoma. Other topics include curriculum resources and lessons developed by Mollie's Fund and a third organization, too.


Teenagers live in a world of technology, surrounded by apps designed for seemingly any task. Many apps have been created relating to nutrition, fitness, and other health topics. Mollie's Fund has recently developed an app designed for self skin checking for melanoma, a simple procedure that can help save lives. "Have You Checked Your Skin Lately?" (labeled "Mollie's Fund" on my phone) is available for the iPhone, iPad, iPod Touch, and Android, and is one app that I will be telling my students about.

From the Google Play Store

I downloaded the app on my Droid Incredible and gave it a whirl this week. It is nicely designed and easy to navigate; it is void of advertisements and has a nice layout. I don't like apps that waste space with advertisements or unnecessary features, so I like the simplicity of this app. The app's homepage has buttons linking to four separate sections of information: About Mollie's Fund, 5 Step Skin Check, ABCDE's of Moles, and How to Protect Yourself. There is also a skin-check calendar discussed below.

Mollie's Fund provides some basic information about their organization within the app, and an option entitled, "5 Step Skin Check" walks you step-by-step through a five-step process used to detect moles on your body. Pictures are included with each set of instructions, and it's easy to swipe through the steps, which are broken down so that they are easy to follow.

The "ABCDE's of Moles" is a nice little resource that can help users differentiate between benign moles and melanoma lesions. Pictures are provided showing both benign and melanoma lesions, and definitions are paraphrased in one word summaries, too. "How to Protect Yourself" highlights six ways you can protect yourself from the sun. Although they seem like common sense, I know that many teenagers (and a lot of adults!) don't practice these simple (yet effective) ways to help prevent skin damage from the sun. The app provides a skin check calendar with twelve squares, one for each month of the year. Users simply check off each month as they complete a skin check. Users can even check an option for a skin check reminder; although I have only had the app a few days I can assume that it will remind the user once a month to perform a skin check.

From the Google Play Store

Recommendations
All in all, I think this app is great, and I like that it's basic with less clutter than other apps. With that being said, I think a few minor adjustments could enhance the app for all users. In the past, I have handed out a mole map to students during our melanoma unit. The mole map allows individuals to keep track of any moles or other changes to their skin that they may find, which makes it easier to detect any changes that may occur. If I were the app developer, I might also make another button with the skin check calendar, instead of having it at the bottom as it is now. Despite these recommendations, this is a great app and one that is fulfilling a definite need in relation to health education. I can easily point my students in the direction of this app so they may continue to apply skills that they have learned in health class. Technology continues to allow students to connect what they learn in school to their real lives.

A skin check is a simple tool that can save lives. Apps like the one created by Mollie's Fund provide users with a quick, simple, and effective way to check their skin and keep track of their skin checks. It's definitely worth a download!

Download "Have You Checked Your Skin Lately? (Mollie's App)"
Google Play (formerly the Android Market)
iTunes Store


NOTE: I am in no way affiliated with Mollie's Fund; I simply came across a copy of their "The Dark Side of The Sun" DVD in college and have occasionally used it during our own melanoma units.

Resources: Graphic Organizers

NOTE: Due to technical difficulties, I wasn't able to scan the documents I needed for the marijuana vocabulary activity. I'm hoping to get that done this week before AAHPERD. Here's a quick post I had started a while ago and left unfinished.

Graphic organizers allow students to visualize main concepts or ideas before diving into a written piece of work. Long used by language arts teachers and elementary school teachers, graphic organizers also have their place in a health classroom. In my health class, I try to add writing to our lessons and units whenever I can. Students have written letters to the editor about school lunch, discussed how song lyrics may influence sexual behavior, and have written mini-persuasive essays about why they should help stop bullying. This is in addition to any reflective writing that accompanies some other projects, too.

Using graphic organizers prevents problems from occurring in the latter stages of a paper. Students are allowed to organize their thoughts and link them together before they begin to write their final product. Graphic organizers are often needed for students on IEPs/504s, but they can assist all students with their learning.

Below are three resources I've used when I need a graphic organizer:


Holt Interactive Graphic Organizers. The graphic organizers on this website can be edited with text on your computer. This makes it easy to personalize graphic organizers to your own classroom or specific topic. Approximately forty different graphic organizers are organized by category.

Education Place: Graphic Organizers. This is the first site that pops up on Google if you enter "graphic organizers" into the search box. Like Holt Interactive, Education Place includes approximately forty different graphic organizers, all conveniently available in PDF form to download. There are no preview options on this page, so you'll have to take a stab at what a graphic organizer will look like based on its name. Each graphic organizer is also available in Spanish.

If you're trying to use electronic graphic organizers, there are a few options that I'm less familiar with. Bubbl.us is one I have blogged about in the past. Inspiration is another program to check out that many educators are familiar with.

I make sure to model how to use the graphic organizer before students begin brainstorming. I'm lucky enough where I can throw one up on the Smartboard and fill one in with the markers; I could also project the editable graphic organizers from Holt on the board and type the information in from the computer. Bubbl.us, mentioned above, is another one I have used with my classes. No matter how they are used, graphic organizers can help students streamline their thinking, make connections between ideas, and help students create better pieces of written work.

As always, please e-mail me with any questions, comments, or concerns!

Classroom Management: Sticky Notes

There are probably hundreds, no...THOUSANDS...of ways sticky notes can be used in the classroom. These handy little pieces of paper with a small strip of sticky adhesive made their debut in American stores in 1980, and are so loved by the general public that you can even download sticky note apps onto your computer or smart phone.

I'll be the first to admit that my classroom is a little louder than most. When you are trying to teach skills-based health education, there's a lot of moving around. When teaching certain topics, there can be a lot of emotion boiling; personal opinions and experiences are defended vehemently. I don't view it as a bad thing when students get into the lesson I'm teaching, although there is a point where lines are crossed. When this happens, it's important to try to minimize the time lost to dealing with discipline issues. There are many ways in which a teacher could do this. Enter sticky notes.

I began using sticky notes to assist with classroom management this year, after it was suggested by my former (now retired) curriculum director and evaluator towards the end of last school year. I was looking for an easy way to keep track of student behavior that would minimize disruption to the learning of other students, and asked him if he had any ideas. Using sticky notes requires no verbal action and I can warn a student about their behavior literally without breaking stride or taking time away from what I am trying to accomplish in the classroom that day.

So, what exactly do I do? My protocol is as follows. If a student is disrupting the class, has made an inappropriate remark, is off task, whatever the reason: I simply walk over to them and place a sticky note on their desk. This serves as a visual reminder to myself and to them that I've noticed their behavior, and that it needs to change. It's also a warning that I've noticed their behavior, and that I would like it to change. I usually don't even need to say anything; students are made aware of my policy at the start of the school year and quickly become familiar with it.

If the student continues to be disruptive to the class, they do one of three things. To be honest, what they do depends on a variety of factors: the student, the specific behavior going on, any IEP/504 accommodations or modifications associated with discipline, etc. Students will either: 1. Write down the phone number of their parent/guardian, 2. Write down an e-mail address of their parent/guardian, or 3. Write down the day they will stay after school with me. (Note: I have all the home contact information of parents/guardians, so if students try to mess with me by leaving fake numbers I have myself covered)

After writing that information down, students will place their sticky note on the handset of the classroom phone on my desk. That is a visual reminder to me to contact home about the student's behavior.

Student responses to this method have been varied. Some students take the opportunity to draw artwork on their sticky notes: smiley faces (trying to change my mind!), frowny faces (no doubt how they are feeling), or small bits of nature scenes. Others collect them in their folders, showcasing them as souvenirs. I've had a few ripped up and thrown on the floor, which really doesn't help me change my mind as to why I handed out a sticky note in the first place. Some students, upon seeing me just reach for their sticky notes, immediately stop their behavior and ask for a second chance. Typically I've already given them a chance to adjust their behavior, so their attempt is often in vain.

It's a simple technique, and has been pretty effective for me this year. My student teacher picked right up on my technique and now carries her own pad of sticky notes, ready to pounce on classroom disruptions. Is this perfect? No. Does it always work? I wish I could say that it does. Every day with middle school students is an adventure, and students have good days and bad days. This technique is quick, does not take away from instructional/learning time, and is easy to fit into any classroom. At the end of the day, a teacher needs to find a way of dealing with discipline that fits into their own style.

So, in conclusion:

• If a student is disrupting the learning environment (what this entails is up to you), a sticky note is placed on their desk
• If a student changes their behavior, no further action is taken
• If the student does not change their behavior, students will be asked to:
• Write down a phone number of their parents/guardians
• Write down an e-mail address of their parent/guardian
• Write down a date in which they will stay after school
• The sticky note is placed on the handset of my classroom phone, as a reminder to contact home.

If after the above steps the behavior is still causing an issue, then the student will be asked to leave the room. In the past, anytime a student has written contact information on a sticky note they were assigned a detention; I have tweaked that due to crazy after school schedules on the parts of both students and myself (IEP meetings, committee meetings, high school track meets, etc).

Feel free to give using sticky notes a try. What classroom management techniques do you use in your classroom? As always, feel free to e-mail me with any questions, comments, or concerns.

HIV Transmission Simulation (And, More Posts ARE Coming!)

NOTE: As long promised, here is my updated take on the HIV Transmission Simulation as created by the fine folks over at Advocates for Youth.

Despite my absence from blogging here, this blog still attracts roughly twenty unique visitors a day. Traffic mainly comes from Google, and after being made aware of this information I'm going to make an effort to contribute to this blog more often. With the AAHPERD Convention coming up, I'm back on a professional development kick! 

The HIV Transmission Simulation is easily one of my favorite activities I've used in my career as a health educator. Originally created by the organization Advocates for Youth, I have used this lesson successfully many times. I've also added some enhancements to the lesson. It does require some initial set-up time, and you'll probably have to buy most of the materials yourself. But, it always leaves a big impact in the minds of my students, and it helps to bring a very important point close to home. Check out the reactions of some of my students from when I first used this activity in 2010.

I've embedded the lesson plan in PDF form below. If you want to see a copy you can print out, please click here. I've also taken it upon myself to identify, in red writing, things that I myself have added to this lesson. Some of these ideas were my own, and others from past professors/teachers/friends. I will be teaching this lesson in the near future to one of my eighth grade classes that is behind the others, so I hope to put up some pictures in the near future.

The original lesson plan from the Advocates for Youth website can be found here. As educators, we are very fortunate that organizations provide teaching materials on their website for free that can enhance what we do in our own classrooms. The original activity is fantastic in itself, I just added some tweaks in order to create different experiences in my classroom. I do not take credit for the original lesson at all; in fact I've seen this concept done in many ways: using index cards and shaking hands, with liquid and chemical indicators, etc.

Future Posts (already written and scheduled to post!):

Saturday 2/25: Sticky Notes (classroom management technique)

Wednesday 2/29: Marijuana Vocabulary Activity (applicable to all levels)

As always, please e-mail me with any questions, comments, or concerns. Also, be sure to check out another blog I co-created with my roommate, Matt: Positive Living. 

Puberty Education Resources: Part 1

It's been a while since I've posted any sort of information relating to what I've done in my classroom. There's really no reason, but between teaching, head-coaching a team of 75 kids this fall, and grad-school, things get pretty busy. With that being said, I ran into some grad school classmates of mine who are student teaching and we were exchanging teaching ideas, which lead to my thinking about posting again. Combine that with my PLN on Twitter, and there's a whole-lotta information being exchanged that I want to get in on once again. I'm still getting hits every week from Google, so it's time to shake of the cobwebs and get back into blogging.


Given that I have just taught puberty to the sixth graders this year, I figured I would post some of my favorite resources for puberty education that I use in my classroom.


NOTE: I have posted about some of these before. Links to old posts are provided, but when I have changed things I've made notes in this post.


PBS Kids: It's My Life: "Puberty: Whole Lotta Changin' Goin' On"

PBS Kids is one of my favorite resources to use in the classroom. When I started teaching, I found it difficult to break down certain body processes (nocturnal emissions, menstruation, etc.) down into language that sixth grade students would understand. Looking back on it, it's not too difficult to do; I was still in the college mindset my first year and now I have no problem doing so. By the name, you may have surmised that PBS Kids is written for kids. The information about puberty is part of a larger PBS Kids website called, "It's My Life." It's my life contains information for kids on topics such as puberty, depression, staying home alone, school, family, and emotions. The website is very content rich and contains numerous videos, games, and interactive activities. Off-line activities are also available on the website.


The website is a helpful resource that children can check out on their own time if they need more puberty information. It is an accurate, safe resource for kids.


KidsHealth.org Reproductive System Diagrams.

A few months into when I first started blogging, I posted a quick post with links to virtual reproductive systems from KidsHealth.org. Their diagrams match up almost perfectly with the diagrams from our puberty curriculum (Michigan Model's "The Wonder Years") making them easy to use in the classroom.  get a kick out of the fact that each part lights up when you click on it, and up pops a quick little summary of each body part. In addition to these diagrams, KidsHealth has a lot of useful information about the changes that occur in both males and females during puberty. With a plethora of information online about puberty and other human sexuality topics, parents can rest assured that the information on KidsHealth.org is medically accurate; it is written and reviewed by doctors. There is plenty of information on the website for students to review containing vocabulary, too.

You can view the male reproductive system diagram here and the accompanying information here. The female reproductive system diagram may be viewed here, while the accompanying information is here. Note that the male diagram contains a side angle view and a front angle view. The female diagram contains an internal view (front angle) as well as an external view. There is also an animation about the menstrual cycle, which is simple yet thorough in its explanation of menstruation.






Reproductive Systems "Mapping Lab"

After we learn about the various parts of the male and female reproductive systems, I have the students complete a "mapping lab" as a review during the next class. This idea was taken from the geography teacher across the hall, who uses this to help her students review countries, capitals, and physical features of the continents. Each group is given a blank copy of the reproductive system diagrams, a sheet protector, and a dry erase marker. Students are to label the reproductive systems using the dry erase marker, which easily erases off the sheet protector when needed. They are provided with a handout where they are to match the name of each body part with its function, too.

KidsHealth.org also has a parent site with useful information parents can use to talk to their children about the challenges of puberty. I don't provide parents with this information directly, but I do mention at open house that I know of some resources in case they feel in the dark about discussing puberty with their child. This feels weird to say to parents because in a lot of cases I'm young enough to be their son, but I put it out there anyway. Planned Parenthood has some great information on the topic, too.

To end on a lighter note, here's a video montage on YouTube containing clips of old-school puberty videos. We no longer use videos in our district at the middle school level, choosing instead to have a unit taught by the health teachers. When looking at these videos, it's hard not to laugh at how tongue-in-cheek they are, and I feel that puberty education deserves more than what those videos provide.







So, best of luck using these resources for your puberty endeavors! Here's a picture of me getting pumped up to teach puberty to my sixth graders:

Please e-mail me with any questions, comments, concerns, or other feedback. People generally don't comment here, but I do receive Tweets and e-mails every now and then. I'm hoping to get two more posts up before the holidays: one a lesson about YRBS data and the second about how my colleague and I are trying some literacy/vocabulary strategies in health education.

Tobacco Education Activities: Sticky Notes, Visuals, and Straw Walk (Oh my!)

NOTE: These are some activities I use in my classroom. I am not sure who initially came up with these ideas, but I've had success with them and in no way am I trying to take credit for inventing them.

I wanted to write a post to share some of my favorite activities relating to tobacco education, after being surprised that I haven't written about these yet. Not all of these activities are "skills based" per say, but they do address the needs of different types of learners while also helping to create meaning among the students. I used these activities for an assignment in a class I am taking (not through BU, through a local education consortium) on brain based learning. We had to think about activities that would create meaning and would be considered relevant by our students. Immediately, these activities came to mind.

In order for learning to be effective, the learning must make sense to the student, and it must have meaning. My personal challenge with everything I teach this year is asking these questions: Does this make sense? Does this have meaning? Is this relevant?

I don't think boring worksheets create meaning; neither do tests or quizzes (for the most part, although they do have their place in the teacher's toolbox). Granted, as a teacher you will never be guaranteed that every single student will always be into what you are teaching, but there are ways (active learning, skills based health education, student involvement) to at least put the ball more in your court. Obviously, I think all of health education is relevant to the lives of teenagers, but part of the trouble is that so many students have heard the same messages over again: don't smoke, don't drink, don't have sex, blah blah blah. No wonder kids tune out! As teachers, we have to give them reasons to tune in instead of tune out to what we are saying.

The nature of these activities is part-lecture, part visual, part hands-on simulation. I really enjoy teaching these activities,  and it seems like most of the students enjoy them as well. The third one, as you'll see below, can be especially eye opening!

Sticky Notes. This sticky notes activity occurs during a lecture portion about tobacco's effect on the human body. I'm not the biggest fan of lectures, but let's be honest: sometimes they have to be done. I provide students with a copy of the notes with fill ins, so they know what information to look for. This was initially done for some special education students, and I decided to use it for everyone, too. As soon as I start the lesson (which includes the visuals mentioned below), I start a timer on my watch to beep every six minutes. I go about teaching the lesson normally: presenting information, checking for understanding, answering student questions, etc. As soon as the watch beeps, I place a stick note on the wall in front of the classroom. Students are initially puzzled, and I move on saying they will find out at a later time. Some students grasp this right away, others do not.

Have an idea where I am going with this? Read on!

My classes are 53 minutes each, and for this activity I'll probably get through 45 minutes of instruction time before I start to wrap things up and end with a summarizer. For the record, I don't get to utilize summarizers all the time, but for this lesson I find it essential. At this point, there's approximately seven or eight sticky notes on the wall. Here's what they mean, and here is more or less what I tell my students:

• Every 72 seconds (1 minute and 12 seconds), someone in the United States dies of smoking related causes
• The watch beeped every six minutes. During that time, five people in the United States have, theoretically, died from smoking related causes
• This adds up to approximately 443,000 people every year
• If each sticky note represents five people, how many people in the United States have passed away during this lesson?

Usually, this point tends to hit home with students, although some of them do question the merit of the data, which I obtained from the CDC and the Campaign for Tobacco Free Kids. I've thought about using one sticky note for each person, but I think that would take away from the mystique.

Visuals. There are many great visuals out there relating to tobacco use: infographics, charts and graphs, pictures of black lungs. These visuals run the gamut from educational and fact based to having a sensational shock value. If I put myself in the shoes of my students, I would probably tune out any sort of visuals I have already seen or ones that don't apply to me. Thinking outside the box and providing students with manipulative visuals is my answer to this problem. Here are two visuals I use; I do use some others, but these are slightly different.

Enter the Tar Jar. The Tar Jar was purchased by another health educator in my building, and is displayed to the right. The Tar Jar that we have contains a representation of the amount of tar that will pass through the lungs of a smoker who smokes half a pack of cigarettes every day for an entire year. It's easy to see that the amount would double if someone were to smoke one pack a day for an entire year. We discuss that tar (Total Aerosol Residue) is produced when tobacco burns, and we also take this time to discuss tobacco smoke in general. I am not sure where we purchased our Tar Jar, but if you would like to create your own Tar Jar, check out this PDF for a recipe! 

Another visual I use is bubble wrap. That's right, basic bubble wrap. Once, I ran out and had to find online bubble wrap to use! I use bubble wrap when we talk about the alveoli in the lungs, which are tiny air filled sacs. Their main job is to exchange oxygen. Alveoli are very stretchy, like tiny balloons. Smoking damages the alveoli by making them less elastic; this damage is permanent and cannot be repaired. Ultimately, this makes it harder to breathe and can lead to COPD. I use the bubble wrap in a demonstration, popping a few of the bubbles and asking students to re-inflate the bubbles I popped. This is impossible, and it emphasizes the point that damage done to the alveoli cannot be repaired. I do point out that the alveoli do not "pop" like the bubble wrap, and that the takeaway point is that the damage cannot be repaired.

Straw Walk. This is one of my favorites; an entire lesson in itself. I am able to tie in information relating to heart rate my students have learned in physical education class. I being by setting the following ground rules: "Students must behave respectfully and responsibly during all activities in class today. While we are in the hallways, there will be no talking, no fooling around, and no immature activity. Any violations of the above or specific rules mentioned by Mr. Bartlett before the activity will result in an immediate detention. No excuses, no exceptions! If at any point you feel dizzy, short of breath, or lightheaded, STOP. Your grade will NOT be negatively affected. Listen to your body!"

Initially, students take their resting heart rate on a thirty second count, and multiply that by two. I the describe a route we are going to take walking through the middle school, finishing with a stair climb from the first floor up to the third floor. When we get to the top, the students take their heart rates again. They also make a note on their worksheets of how they felt in comparison to taking their rest heart in the classroom.


Upon our return to the classroom, each student receives a drinking straw. Now, we complete the same walk as before, but with a twist: students have to place the straw in their mouth and breathe only through the straw. Sometimes, I give students the option of pinching their nose shut, too. We complete the same walk, and for most students it gets tough once we start going up the stairs. We use the same process: take the heart rate again, but I also focus more on how the students feel after this portion of the activity. Sometimes, the heart rate doesn't always increase, depending on a variety of factors (fitness, error in taking heart rate, etc.; in my experience, however, students almost always identify that breathing through the straw simply felt harder.


Once we get back to the classroom the second time, we go through a discussion and the students engage in a reflection about the activity. Some questions I may ask: Which activity felt the hardest for you to complete? How did it feel breathing through the straw? What would your life be like if this was the only way you could breathe? We only walked for this activity, what would it feel like to run, dance, swim, etc. breathing like this? How would regular lifestyle activities be affected?

Sometimes, I offer students the opportunity to go through their normal school day only breathing through the straw, but no one has taken me up on it! When I was student teaching, my cooperating practitioner had the students run laps around the gym. I have thought about doing this, but because not all of my students are athletes, I like this activity as conducted because it focuses on lifestyle activities: we all walk and walk up and down stairs.


Wrap Up. Listen, I'm not saying that these are magical activities that would completely hold the attention of your students for the entire class period. Depending on the population you are working with, they might not even be effective. As a health educator, that is your decision to make. All I know is that I tend to luck out when I use approaches like this. If these types of activities are able to create meaning with the brains of my students, there's a greater likelihood that they will remember the information. So, when the time comes for one of my students to determine whether or not to engage in risky behavior, this information could be recalled and may prevent any negative consequences associated with risky behaviors. Granted, this is only the knowledge side; providing students with skills in health education is the other piece of the puzzle.


Later this week, I'll finally be reposting the HIV Transmission Simulation that I have taken from an excellent online source. I'll be posting the original lesson as well as the one with my own additions. I have to catch up on some work for my class before I head to Vermont for the weekend, so I will try to get it up before I leave, but I can't promise anything. Stay tuned!

Using Music In Health Class, Part One: Rise Against's "Make It Stop"

Part One in a series detailing how I am using (or plan on using) music in my middle school health education classroom.

Music is a powerful force that many teenagers can find connections with. Music is a large part of their lives, and teenagers are constantly plugged into their iPods or on YouTube, listening away; music can be interpreted in as many ways as there are people. It also has the ability to influence us, in ways positive and negative.

Last school year, I experimented with a part homework, part classwork activity that involved analyzing song lyrics relating to sexuality. The eighth grade students I completed this assignment with really enjoyed it; it was not difficult for them to find songs dealing with sexuality related topics or issues: love, breaking up, cheating, stereotypes, sexual violence, sexuality, gender issues, sexism, body image, etc. Songs came from many genres, some were parodies and some were serious. The details about this assignment are not to point of this post, but rather to highlight one band's song that is tackling a big issue facing American teenagers.


DISCLAIMER: I wouldn't call myself a "fan" fan of Rise Against, but I do enjoy a lot of their music. I used to listen to "Broken English" in college during my warm-up runs before races. I am in no way affiliated with them, just trying to spread the word about a positive thing: choosing to speak up about an issue many are ignoring.

Earlier this summer, the punk rock band Rise Against released a new song and music video that takes a stand against homophobia, and the song is also part of the nationally known It Gets Better campaign. The song is entitled, "Make It Stop (September's Children)" and was written during the influx of gay and gay-perceived teenagers committing suicide in September of 2010. Rise Against has always been into activism of any sort (they've been known to tackle political issues in their songs), and in that way, this song is no different from many of their other songs. MTV interviewed frontman Tyler McIlrath earlier this summer, and the video is meant to showcase Tyler's frustrations that so many teenagers across the country, from all sexual orientations, socioeconomic backgrounds, races, etc. don't feel accepted at school.

I'm not entirely sure how I would use this in my classroom, but I do know that in order for students to fully understand with what they're learning, they have to be able to make a connection with it. This music video may be one such avenue with which to do so; as I mentioned before, music plays a large part in the lives of many teenagers. Whether the goal of music is to entertain or serve as a form of social protest doesn't matter, it can still help change the way people act. This video easily fits into numerous health topics. Hopefully, more bands, singers, performers, actors, athletes, and others who serve as role models for teenagers will begin to address issues like Rise Against has. As a teacher, it is part of my job to bring awareness to these issues, to begin those types of conversations, and to provide opportunities for tolerance within my classroom, hopefully extending out into the world.

The video is embedded below. Please be aware that some people may find it fairly intense. Be sure to check out the It Gets Better Project, too.

AAHE Teaching Techniques Journal

NOTE: Some of my older posts are in the process of being edited so I can update and repost them. My most popular (the HIV Transmission Simulation Activity from the AFY Website and the Alcohol Simulation Stations) are among those. Eventually the old posts will contain links to the new posts. Check back later this week!

One of the best parts of teaching health education is searching for new, interactive, skills-based, hands-on activities that I can use in my classroom to spice up our curriculum. Through networking with other teachers, scouring the Internet, and picking through books, I always seem to find something to try out in the  middle school classroom. This is one reason why I started this website!

So, I was pumped to see that the American Association of Health Education is now publishing an online journal entitled, Teaching Techniques Journal! This resource is located on their website, is free of charge, and can be accessed by anyone. Simply click the "Current Issue" link and read away!

The Teaching Techniques Journal is exactly what our profession needs. The American Journal of Health Education used to publish one or two "Teaching Ideas" and I was disappointed to see that go away. Now, through a separate resource, it's back! The activities in the first issue cover a wide variety of topics, and even if a teacher feels that the specific activities might not fit into their classroom, teachers can take the basic idea or concept and adapt it as they see fit. I already have some ideas about how I can tweak some lessons for my own classroom. Many ideas for the secondary classroom in the first issue were submitted by individuals working in higher education; I hope to see some ideas submitted by secondary teachers in the future as well.

So, what are you waiting for? Check out the first issue of Teaching Techniques Journal now!
 
As always, please feel free to e-mail me with any questions, comments, or concerns.

Video Viewing Activity: "Record, Elaborate, Extend"

I'm sure that I've mentioned somewhere in an earlier post that I'm not the biggest fan of using videos extensively in my classroom. I feel that there are too many other ways to effectively teach students health education that encourage them to be active, as opposed to passive, in their education. Unfortunately, in some districts health education is thrust upon teachers who are not trained or who have no interest in teaching health; this has led to health education being stereotyped as a class where videos are shown and nothing else really goes on. This is not to say that videos should be banned from the classroom! I do use short video clips whenever I can, to bring a different element to the classroom. In the May/June 2010 issue of the American Journal of Health Education, there's an article about using video clips in a health literacy program and their implication for providing context for classroom topics. I rarely show full length videos, but find that video clips can help stimulate discussion about topics, among other things.

In the situations where I do show actual videos, I don't want the students to sit there idly and fall asleep; nor do I want them to simply write down "facts" as they watch. After all, there is a point to the video! I want them to take specific information away from their viewing, and to expand upon this information later in class or during our unit. Recently during our seventh grade ATOD unit, I showed an eighteen minute video called, "Spit Tobacco Exposed." It's a little dated, from the era when green screens and flashy graphics were popular, but the content is accurate and is presented in a way that gets the attention of students. It also reviews some other information we will have already covered regarding tobacco and nicotine, so I'm able to get some review in while also presenting new content. The rest of the lesson builds off of this video.

Prior to the video, each student received a handout with a chart on it. The chart was entitled, "Record, Elaborate, and Extend." (Please see below for an embedded version of the chart) I came upon this idea from a colleague in the social studies department, who read about it in Educational Leadership. The article, entitled "Putting Gel Pen to Paper" is written by a seventh grade history teacher. The article's premise is that students can improve their writing skills while enhancing their understanding of course content.

Because the video I showed was brief (and only part of the lesson for the day) I didn't really need to focus too much on what I wanted the students to look for. But, if you look at the handout embedded below, you'll see I did highlight specific information I wanted the students to pick up on. Some students recognized the format and knew immediately what to do because they had seen this format elsewhere with other teachers. I model what to do using the Boston Red Sox as an example.

Below is a brief summary of the chart, with some information quoted from page 65 of the article "Putting Gel Pen to Paper." After the summary of each section, I've written what I specifically was looking for for this lesson.

Record (during video). "While they view the video, students jot down key points and significant ideas in the Record section of their viewing guide. Students should keep their points brief, recording only short phrases, because the process of transcribing should interfere as little as possible with the process of watching and listening." Record brief notes and short phrases on smokeless tobacco: what it is, its effects on the body, why people do it, negative health effects, etc.

Elaborate (during break or breaks). "The teacher pauses the video to allow students to process the information they have seen and heard. Students examine their recorded notes and write a specified number of full sentences in the Elaborate section of their viewing guide that describe what they have learned. Teachers may use sentence stems to help students start writing." Re-read your recorded notes. Write full sentences, making sense of the recorded notes and linking information together. Please note that because of the short length of this video, we did not pause at all. However, the video does provide an opportunity to pause for discussion towards the end; I just choose to wait until the video is over.

Extend (after the video). "The entire class discusses the elaborated points. Students can then respond to an open-ended question in the Extend section of their viewing guides, synthesizing what they have learned from the video." Use your notes to answer the following prompts: (1) Identify three ways smokeless tobacco could alter your life. (2) Justify the need for smokeless tobacco education in schools. For the next round of classes, I am going to change these questions.

Overall, I like using this format; it also allows students to practice note taking skills. They're not sitting back passively, focusing so much on the next question that they drown other information out, and they're not just writing down random facts and tidbits information that might not have relevance to the curriculum. It also ensures one hundred percent student participation. I have not yet had to modify this for any students in my classes, but the format can be made as specific as possible and is easy to modify.

It's also important to highlight that during the video, the students should only record brief phrases, so that they don't spend a lot of time away from paying attention to the video. It's fun to see the light bulbs go off when students link information together and make connections, too!

I've embedded an example of the chart I use below. Finally, here are two student examples from one of my seventh grade classes. These examples are not perfect (I had to clarify some items when I handed them back), but they are real-life student examples from a seventh grade class. If anything, they simply provide a visual of the "Record, Elaborate, Extend" format in action.

Student Sample #1:

Student Example #1

Student Sample #2:

Student Example #2

Here is the example chart:

As always, please feel free to e-mail me with any questions, comments, or concerns.

Article Citation: Yell, M.M. (2002). Putting gel pen to paper.Educational Leadership, 60(3), 63-66.


Disclaimer: I am not affiliated with HRM Video, the creators of "Spit Tobacco Exposed" nor am I affiliated with ASCD, the publishers of Educational Leadership. However, their publication is a GREAT resource that teachers can always take something from!

LGBTQ Resources: Classroom Use

Recently the website Sex, Etc. updated their LGBTQ resources section of their website. I started drafting a post about Sex, Etc. this week but want to focus on how their updated LGBTQ section could be used in any health education classroom. Sex, Etc. is run by an orgnization out of Rutgers University called Answer. Answer believes that, "Sexuality should be understood, respected, and celebrated." Answer is a fantastic resource for teenagers, health educators, and others working with teenagers. The website is perfectly geared towards teenagers, with information that is accurate, up to date, and definitely important for their lives. Sexuality education is so much more than sex, sex, sex. Sex, Etc. highlights this important fact, and covers everything a comprehensive sexuality curriculum should cover.

The updated LGBTQ resources are intended for teenagers who are lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, or questioning and to help them understand who they are. The resources are also great for family members, friends, and other allies of LGBTQ teenagers. Let's face it, if you're a teacher there are going to be LGBTQ students in your classes. Middle school by itself is a tough experience, and the burden of trying to figure out who they are puts an additional burden on teenagers. The information contained below could very easily be used to help lessen that burden and also help teenagers become more comfortable with who they are.

Books. A list of over one hundred and fifty books are listed on the Sex, Etc. website. Ranging from fiction to nonfiction, and geared towards LGBTQ youth as well as allies, educators, and parents, this list has a little of something for everyone. As a high school track coach, one book about a gay track athlete has peaked my interest. In my classroom, I have a sign saying, "What Is Mr. Bartlett Reading?" with the cover of whatever book I'm reading scanned in color underneath. I collaborate with the middle school librarian, who provides me with young adult novels to read, with the hope that I can engage middle school students in discussions about reading. I've had some great discussions with kids about the books I'm reading (they've read some of them after I have!), and reading a book from this list could allow me to have important sexuality conversations that might not initially come up during class. Ideally, students would also realize that I am promoting discussion about these types of issues, while being accepting of students no matter what their sexual orientation happens to be. I would be more cautious about discussing this with sixth grade than I would with my eighth graders, however. Also, June is Gay and Lesbian Pride Month, and middle school librarians could have a display in their library focusing on LGBTQ literature geared towards youth, allies, and educators. This might be a hot button issue in many communities, but it's an issue people have to stop hiding from and start talking about!

FAQs & Stories. Stories from staff writers and contributors fill a list of stories highlighting a myriad of topics relating to LGBTQ youth: coming out to your parents, being harassed at school, even information about professional athletes dealing with harassment about their sexuality. Making students aware of these stories can help them understand that they are not alone and their experiences are normal. The FAQ section also provides a great starting points for students who are curious and seeking extra information on what they are feeling and going through. This information could be shared in a variety of classroom activities, depending on the content of the story. A post-reading classroom discussion about the stories would be crucial in order to make sure students understand the knowledge and attitudes you want them to learn.

Web Sites and Hotlines. Sex, Etc. provides teenagers with twenty two websites and nine hotlines, such as PFLAG, The Trevor Project, and outLoud Radio. Teenagers can connect with students going through similar experiences, find support, and learn something from all of the listed web sites and hotlines. These organizations are easily made available to all students through a classroom display (it can be as small as one piece of paper on a bulletin board, or a larger display) or even through a classroom project asking students to research the different organizations and what they offer to teenagers.

Forums. The Sex, Etc. forums offer a way for teenagers to connect with others through discussion. It appears that the LGBTQ specific forums don't get too much activity compared to the other sections, but hopefully with the attention around these new resources activity will increase! The other forums are packed with information, with questions answered by an on-site expert. This is a great resource for teenagers who don't want to ask their parents or doctors the "tough" questions. Many teachers would not be able to share the content of these forums in their own classroom due to school policies or parental issues (which is a whole other topic!) but the forums are definitely a "go-to" outside of school resource.

As of right now, my curriculum relating to sexuality includes puberty in sixth grade and HIV/AIDS and other STDs in eighth grade. If I had my way, I would be able to teach everything! I'm hoping to work to improve that in my district, but because I can't right now, Sex, Etc. is a resource that I am comfortable passing along to students if they so inquire when I am teaching the units I mentioned above. So many websites on the Internet contain information that is false, and Sex, Etc. is the type of websites teenagers need to see!

All in all, the LGBTC section of Sex, Etc. provides valuable, must-see information for teenagers, educators, parents, and allies. I can only imagine what it would have been like if teenagers in my parent's generation would have had access to resources like these. It is vital to spread this information so we can prevent more tragedies, promote tolerance and acceptance, and finally be able to accept everyone, no matter what their sexual orientation is, simply for who they are.

As always, please e-mail me with any questions, comments, or concerns.

Analyzing Alcohol Advertisements: Resources for Educators

NOTE: I am in no way affiliated with Frank W. Baker or The Media Literacy Clearinghouse. I write this on my own free will with the purpose of passing on an incredible resources to other teachers!

Frank W. Baker is a media literacy expert who runs the Media Literacy Clearinghouse.  The clearinghouse contains information regarding media literacy and its application to a variety of topics, including health topics such as alcohol, body image, food, sex, and tobacco. Each section contains downloadable articles, lesson plans, sample advertisements, and links for more information that every health educator should check out! I frequently use his links to alcohol advertisements for a carousel activity (I should post about that soon...) with my seventh graders. Mr. Baker has all angles covered, and his website is very comprehensive with that information is provides.

Baker also covers additional topics, such as bias, media art, and propaganda, to name a few. This makes it easy for teachers of separate subjects to plan cross-curricular activities relating to their course content with colleagues. His website is a valuable resource for any health educator who wants to tie media literacy into their various units.  Occasionally, some of the links will be broken or outdated; a Google search usually fixes this. It would be relatively easy for teachers to design webquests featuring The Media Literacy Clearinghouse, which could easily work out to the higher level, critical thinking skills that are vital for students to learn. So, please check out The Media Literacy Clearinghouse!

As always, please feel free to e-mail me with any questions, comments, or concerns.

"Our Favorite Drugs" Infographic

GOOD Magazine publishes a Transparency every week on their website, which is full of infographics relating to many diverse topics. Since browsing through their website for the first time, I've added a few feeds to my Google Reader account! GOOD also keeps an archive of their transparencies on flickr.

The infographic "Our Favorite Drugs" puts drug use into a visual form, using information from local law enforcement officials who were asked by the Department of Justice which drugs posed the greatest danger to their local communities.

This visual is an easy addition to any drug unit. The sky is the limit to the types of questioning or reasoning the students could use; the teacher could even use this as a type of unit activator by asking students to predict drug use in different parts of the country before showing students the infographic. Students can look at the infographic, attempting to infer why certain drugs are more problematic in some parts of the country as opposed to others; to examine regional, local, and other (cultural, geographic, etc) differences; to predict future trends of drug use.  Note that alcohol is not included in this infographic. The visuals might be a little confusing at first, but it becomes clear once you see how it's set up.

I can't embed the copyrighted image, and if you missed the link above, you can check out "Our Favorite Drugs" in GOOD Magazine's flickr account by clicking here. I've also recently discovered some infographics online from TIME as well; check back in the near future for a post on those infographics.

Center on Alcohol Marketing and Youth

The Center on Alcohol Marketing and Youth (abbreviated CAMY) is a must-know resource for any health educator. Part of the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, CAMY "monitors the marketing practices of the alcohol industry to focus attention and action on industry practices that jeopardize the health and safety of America's youth." The CAMY website is an incredible resource for any teacher, whether their goal is to find information for lesson planning, reading advocacy reports, staying on top of political updates and news reports, or the reading latest research on alcohol advertising.

CAMY contains an expansive section of print alcohol advertisements grouped by brand name or product, and a separate section of television commercials that are similarly grouped. CAMY provides these advertisements with the hope that they will "stimulate discussion, comment, criticism, and public concern about alcohol marketing and youth." I've used alcohol advertisements provided by CAMY in my seventh grade health classes when we deconstruct tobacco and alcohol advertisements. In the past, I have selected a handful of advertisements and used them in a carousel activity. Advertisements are hung around the room, and groups of students go to each one and try to deconstruct the advertisements before we discuss them. This is typically after we have examined advertising techniques, and we expand upon this by critiquing advertisements and analyzing how they effect health behavior. This is an important skill for students to learn because it is one of the National Health Education Standards, and the performance indicators under those standards, which are part of any exemplary health education program.

We haven't entered that part of our curriculum yet this year, but when we do I'll write a detailed post about the actual lesson itself.

Some of the information on the CAMY website might be a little too in-depth for middle school students, but the reports and research provided by CAMY are great opportunities to extend a lesson for students able to continue further than their classmates, or to use in high school as an expansion to what was learned in middle school. Some of the summary brochures and fact sheets are dated, so care should be taken when certain statistics are used in the classroom. The organization has received some criticism from a group that has also criticized Mothers Against Drunk Driving, The Robert Woods Johnson Foundation, and The American Medical Association. I'll let the reader make up their own mind about those criticisms. With any topic, it's important to examine information critically, from multiple viewpoints, especially as a teacher. I feel that I don't need a website trying to discredit organizations (especially ones listed above) to make my own judgements based on the information I have available.

HIV/AIDS: Using "Dispatch: Zimbabwe" in HIV/AIDS Unit

One of my favorite units to teach is the HIV/AIDS and other STDs unit that is in our eighth grade health curriculum. I often supplement material contained in our curriculum with material from outside sources, because I find it a fascinating topic with so many things to bring to the classroom and add to the experiences of my students. I could spend the whole trimester on this one topic! The transmission simulation activity is perhaps the favorite in the eyes of my students, but I enjoy trying to get my students to see the big (global) picture with the HIV/AIDS epidemic. Last year I used two video resources during this unit, one from PBS Frontline which I use to show short clips about the beginning of HIV/AIDS.

The second resource comes from one of my favorite bands, Dispatch. Although the three members no longer play together, the band's impact is still felt throughout the way in which they reach out, globally, to help those less fortunate than them. Dispatch is huge on advocacy work, and the members frequently travel to other countries in order to help others.

In 2007, Dispatch reunited for a three performance stint at Madison Square Garden, and sold out each night. The benefit concerts, entitled "Dispatch: Zimbabwe" were designed to raise money to fight famine, disease, and charities in Zimbabwe. During the concert (and on the DVD of the concert) Dispatch created small vignettes about a variety of topics. One is entitled, "Health."

The "Health" vignette focuses on HIV/AIDS and its impact on a man named Eria. The five minute clip provides a nice introduction to the global issues of HIV/AIDS, although it does focus on how it is affecting Zimbabwe. I use it as an introduction to a class discussion on the global impact of the disease, in which I use some maps from organizations that are trying to reduce the spread of HIV/AIDS.

I've embedded the video below.

MyPyramid Blast Off! Review Game

MyPyramid is the current food pyramid that is used in our sixth grade nutrition unit. I do try to incorporate other food pyramids if we have time (the Healthy Eating Pyramid and the Mediterranean Food Pyramid are two) for comparison purposes, but time is usually not a luxury afforded to a sixth grade classroom!

The USDA created MyPyramid in 2005 as an update to the old food guide pyramid that I learned about in middle school. When it was created there was a fair amount of criticism which led to the creation of other food pyramids. My sixth graders come into class with basic knowledge of MyPyramid from their fifth grade health class in elementary school. So, I go into more detail about how they can individualize their eating habits using MyPyramid, among other topics relating to nutrition. I usually begin with a review so I can make adjustments in case some students have more knowledge than others.

The MyPyramid Blast Off! game is a great review for students relating to the food groups, serving sizes, and incorporating moderation and variety into their diet. Students must fuel their rocket ship with food from all food groups and physical activity to reach Planet Power. I make this activity interactive by allowing students to come up and use the Smart Board to help play the game. When I use it this year I'm going to try to have some sort of companion activity so students don't become bored or overly excited. You do need Flash 7 or greater to play the game. Click here to launch the game and try it out!